Big Brother
by rivkamar2001
Summary: Momo Sohma has always wanted to be part of a big, loud family. But since she's an only child, she's going to find someone to be her big brother instead. No one seems quite right - until she sneaks into the main Sohma estates and finds a boy playing the violin.


I never liked the quiet. Mama always said I was a quiet child, but that's only because there was no one else to talk to. Maybe that's why I always dreamed of being part of a big family. Mama was usually sick, and Papa traveled a lot, so I had a lot of free time to imagine. Because Mama spent so much time in bed, I had to take care of myself, but even as a little girl I didn't need much taking care of. That left a lot of time for thinking about what the house would look like with a big family.

Mama would be well, of course. She'd be going from one child to another to give hugs or advice; there would be toys in every room, and there might even be a baby on the floor. I never really knew how many siblings I would have in these daydreams, but I always knew that there would be at least one brother and one sister.

I was never really sure where I would be in the lineup - Some days I would be the oldest of all, giving suggestions to my sister about her dolls and teaching my little brother not to eat paste; and sometimes I would be at the very end of the line. All my brothers would pick me up and carry me wherever I wanted to go, and my sisters would do my hair and take me out shopping for new shoes (Mama never gets me new shoes, it's always Papa - and he always gets the practical kind that I can grow into). In these dreams, I didn't have to take care of anyone.

I never told Mama about those daydreams, but one night when I was about seven, I told Papa:

"No matter how many brothers I have, you'll always be my favorite."

Papa had just come home that day and he was pretty tired. He was tucking me into bed at the time, and it took him a few moments before his head jerked up and he said

"Brothers, Momo?"

"Yes, Papa." I said firmly. "I want you to know that no matter how many brothers I imagine, you'll always be my favorite."

He sighed and then smiled a funny kind of smile.

"Well, if that's the case, then I don't have any problem at all with your - imaginary brothers. How many do you have?"

I was falling asleep by this time, but I remember saying

"Only one."

It wasn't until I was nine that I realized that my daydreams were finally settling down. Though the number of sisters still changed on a daily basis, I only ever had one brother. He was older than me, just old enough to be in another school, but still close enough in age to me that he was my playmate. I began to develop a character for him. He would have to be loud, of course. Nothing less would satisfy me. He would be able to solve any problem brought to him, with ease and apparently without fail. I would ask him what I should get Papa for New Years, or whether I should tell Mama about my new friend in class.

He eventually became a very real person to me. A real person I just never saw. Most of the adults in my life only showed up every few days, so this wasn't surprising. No matter how hard I tried, however, I couldn't find a name for my all-powerful brother. I considered long and hard, and even tried out a few. None worked for more than a few days, but I didn't really need a name. He just was.

Our house is a few blocks away from the Sohma estate. Papa is a Somha, and so are Mama and I through marriage, but Papa decided before I was born that we wouldn't live with the rest of the family. I sometimes saw people coming out of the gate as I walked by the estate, but I never met them. Even so, I memorized their faces and appearances, especially the young men. One who came out every day had a pointed nose and black-and-white hair; another was younger and had black hair and a constant scowl, and there were some other men who were much older - I didn't really pay much attention to them. I didn't realize it at first, but I was looking for someone in my family who might become my brother. Not in real life, of course, but just to become someone I could go to for help, or to ask questions, or just to be near him.

I never found anyone who struck me as my brother, but I knew that there had to be someone there, so I began to walk towards the main estate when I went out. I didn't go every time, but I walked the street enough that I got to know the route to and from my house. For years I never had the courage to go in the gates - most of of the time when people came out, they would look angry. Most of the time, it was young men, but every so often a young woman with long black hair would storm out and I wouldn't see her again for a few weeks.

Finally when I was twelve, I mustered the courage and walked up to the gates with a pounding heart. As I walked up, I noticed a small hole in wall. Looking around me cautiously, I bent down and began to go through. I knew that if any of the adults found me, I would have to explain what I was doing there, who I was, how I had gotten in the grounds. Even as I crawled on hands and knees through the opening, I began to rehearse what I would say if - when - I met someone.

"Hello, my name is Momo. I crawled through a hole in the wall. My Papa is a Sohma, and I'm here looking for my brother!"

It sounded silly, even to me.

After crawling through the wall, I walked - snuck, really - around the grounds until I came to the main courtyard. I knew that it was the main courtyard because it was surrounded on three sides with houses. Nothing was moving- There wasn't a person in sight, no birds sang, even the trees seemed to be too scared to shake their leaves.

I suddenly felt very alone.

I had always imagined that the Sohma grounds would be a paradise - one big, happy family making lots of noise and generally seeming as different as possible from home. This - this was just like home again, in the worst possible way. More than anything else, however, I felt alone because I didn't see anyone at all, let alone my brother.

I had imagined it for so long: He would be playing with some of the other young men in the compound, maybe playing with a ball, and someone would hit it wrong. Either it would come rushing at me and he would catch it at the last moment, or it would come rolling to a stop at my feet, and I would pick it up and toss it to him, joining in the game. It would have been perfect, as different from this empty place as day and night.

I felt like sitting down on one of the empty porches and crying my heart out, but I knew that if I sat too long, I was sure to be seen by someone. How would I explain this?

"I'm sorry, I thought that you would be loud, and messy, and perfect for me. I thought my brother would be watching me and playing with me, and I thought I'd never be sad again, because I could come here!"

That sounded even sillier than the first explanation.

As I stood there, as exposed as I had ever been, I realized that I had to move. If anyone came out, I would be taken back in disgrace to Mama, who would look at me in disbelief and say

"Momo, why on earth would you think that you have a brother?"

Move. Move. There was nothing else I could do here, but I couldn't make my feet obey my brain. It was as if they were waiting for something I didn't know about, almost as if they were saying

"_Just you wait, Momo."_

As I stood there rooted to the spot, I heard a small sound. It wasn't more than a few notes, but it broke the spell. I stumbled away from the courtyard and began to follow it. I was so devastated that I wasn't thinking, but just walked blindly, not worrying about being seen. I didn't know what I was going to do when I found the music, but I knew that I had to find it. I walked until I came to a house behind the courtyard, and I saw a patio with open doors. Inside the doors there was a small room with a boy of about fifteen inside, playing the violin. It was he who was playing the song that seemed to be perfect for my mood: It was sad, lonely, and had some other quality that I couldn't define. It was a simple tune, but he didn't have any music in front of him. Had he written the song?

The boy himself was somewhat odd. He was still in his school uniform, he must be, but he was in a sailor shirt and skirt instead of a boy's uniform. He seemed shorter than most boys I had seen coming and going from the estate, but he was still taller than me - I was always a shrimp. I only barely recognized him, but I knew that he must be a Sohma, since he had the family nose and seemed quite at home in the main estate. Still, there was something familiar about him that I couldn't quite place. Something about his hair…

As I crept forward, he didn't see me. I realized that if I interrupted him, I wouldn't be able to hear the rest of the song. I sat down under the small ledge to the patio, where I couldn't see him and he couldn't see me - and more importantly, no one else could see me unless they were hiding in the trees. The boy kept playing, and I lost track of time. It wasn't until the sun was going down that someone else came into the room and interrupted the music.

"Momiji-kun, dinner is on the table, and I assume you'll want it?"

"Coming, Tori-nii."

I peeped over the ledge. The boy with the violin - Momiji? - had turned to talk to the man standing in the doorway. He was tall and dark-haired, with strangely shaped eyes. As the two left the room, I saw the height difference between the two of them. The boy with the violin, whose name was apparently Momiji, was more than two feet shorter than the man!

"_He's short, just like me!"_ I thought exultantly.

After they left, I crept away as quietly as I had come, leaving through the hole in the wall again. Mama was still in bed when I got back home, and she couldn't understand why I hadn't come in to see her when I got home from school. I explained that I had been working on my homework with a friend, and so had only just gotten back. She accepted this with a sigh, and leaned back again.

"Tell me next time! I was starting to get worried. Silly girl."

I didn't hear any of this speech, because something had suddenly struck me - and I didn't know what to do with the information.

I suddenly knew why the boy's hair looked so familiar.

I left Mama's room and walked to my own, where I sat on my bed. This was where I did most of my imagining, so I was surprised when I couldn't get into the mood. All I could think of was the boy Momiji and his song. I realized that he hadn't seen me this time, so I might be able to go back and listen again. I fell asleep that night to the sound of the tune going through my head.

I couldn't go back the next day, since I had to come up with a good excuse to give Mama. After a few days, I explained to her that I was joining a study group at school that would be meeting every few days after the usual hours. She was happy that I was taking an interest in school, or at least she said that she was. I think she was mostly just happy that I was meeting people - and she was kind of right, too. I had met someone, or at least I was going to, and I was going to his house every few days.

I got into a habit: I would finish school, walk past my house to the main estate, and crawl through the hole in the wall. I would sneak - there's no other word for it - to the patio and the open doors. It took a few tries for me to find out when Momiji would be playing, since he wasn't there some days of the week, but eventually I figured it out and would creep through the bushes and listen under the patio ledge. I couldn't put into words why I was doing it, but I knew that it was very important to me.

Every once in a while there would be someone else in the area, and there were a few times when I was almost caught. I didn't know why I was so worried about being caught anymore, since I was a Sohma through marriage and had every right to be there. I just knew that it would change if I were caught and Momiji knew that I had been listening to him. But once I made it to the ledge, I didn't care anymore and just listened. Every day there was something different. One day there was a song that made me cry so hard I had to run away or risk being heard, and the next week there was a song that made me want to dance. It was as if he knew I was there and was giving me a full performance, one day at a time. But nearly every time, he played that slightly sad, slightly lonely tune I had heard the first day.

I listened like this for a year, even through the winter. I would bundle up so much that I could barely fit through my hole, and I would sit under the ledge listening through the closed door. I could barely hear it, but barely was better than not hearing it at all for four months. Finally, the seasons turned and it was spring again. The weather warmed up, and Momiji opened the doors while he practiced. My customary place under the ledge was beginning to cover over with flowers when something happened.

I was sitting and listening one afternoon when I heard a rustle in the bushes. I was too engaged by the music - a beautiful, reflective tune today - to move for a moment. As I jumped for the bushes, a girl of about sixteen slipped through the trees on the other side. She looked around, and seemed to make up her mind about something. I knew that if she found me all would be lost…

"_Please don't come towards me."_

She began walking, stealthily, around the small clearing by the patio

"_Please."_

She looked around her, and I began inching backwards into the hedge. She looked around once more, and plunged into the bush I had chosen. She saw me, and gasped.

"Who are you?"

Her eyes were so trusting that I had to tell her. I couldn't have done anything else.

"My name-"

My voice cracked slightly. I cleared my throat and tried again.

"My name is Momo Sohma. I don't live here, but I come here sometimes to listen to him play."

"Momo!"

She seemed surprised, unusually so. Did she know the Sohma family, and had she heard of me? The girl continued:

"I'm sorry for disturbing you. It's beautiful music, isn't it?"

"Yes, it is. Are you a Sohma?"

She seemed shaken by this.

"Nooo… I'm not a Sohma. My name is Tohru Honda. I live-"

She broke off and turned red. I barely noticed. I mustered all the courage I could to ask one question:

"Do you know that boy with the violin?"

She smiled. Her smile was the sweetest I had ever seen, but still a little sad.

"Yes, I do. His name is Momiji, I go to school with him."

One last thing I could do. I had thought about this long and hard, but now was time for action, not thoughts.

"Do you think…."

I couldn't do it. I couldn't.

I had to.

"Do you think… Could you ask him to… be my brother?"

She seemed startled by this. Remarkably so. I wondered why, but I couldn't think of anything besides the pounding of my heart. If she didn't tell him, or if he didn't want me… What would I do?

Finally, Tohru Honda smiled at me.

"I'll talk to him. Gently. We'll see."

I nodded mutely and fled.

For months I waited. I didn't dare go back to the ledge, since I had taken a step I now regretted. Did he not want to be my brother? For a year, I had been imagining him as my brother, but what if he didn't want it? What if he thought I was stalking him for a year? Now that I thought about it, I had been. I had been a creep, watching him without his knowing - of course he would hate me. I didn't see Tohru Honda again and so couldn't even ask her what Momiji's response had been. I didn't go towards the main estate again - I couldn't face any of the Sohmas. Papa didn't talk to the Sohmas, and I couldn't even ask him for a favor, because I couldn't explain why I had felt so close to Momiji in the first place. He was short, like me, but I didn't know anything else about him.

Except that his hair was strangely familiar…

I didn't go out to the Sohma house anymore, but Mama wasn't as sick anymore, so she could spend more time with me. After a few months, I didn't think about the violin music or its player as much, no more than a few times a day. Mama and I started to go out together and do all kinds of new things: Amusement parks, out shopping together, to get our nails done. Papa joined us as much as possible, and we began to be less quiet around the house. We had family dinners more, and I began to open up even to Mama about my life - though I never told her or Papa about going to the Sohma Estates. The three of us became closer, and I began to forget about my imaginary sisters. I never really forgot my brother - or Momiji - but I at least didn't let it rule my life anymore.

When I was fourteen, Mama and Papa decided that we should take a big vacation during my summer break, before I entered High School. We talked about going to the beach, going out of the country, or taking a cabin in the mountains. I wanted to go to the mountains, to live in a little house, and to maybe have fires and marshmallows every night. Mama suggested that perhaps every night would get tiresome, but I still cast my vote for the cabin, and that's what we decided on. Every afternoon for the last few weeks before the end of school I would come home to something new: one day Mama was showing the rooms to the family who was going to rent our house for the summer, the next day Papa had brought all of our suitcases into the living room to fill. Eventually, we were packed except for a few last things. We planned to leave the day after school got out, and I couldn't even wait that long.

The day before school got out, I was walking home and was lost in thought about the trip, imagining the trees and the animals I might encounter, and I began to hum my favorite tune. It was a little sweet, a little lonely, and had always been my favorite. Even though I hadn't thought about Momiji in months, I hummed that tune most every day. As I walked on, I began to hum louder, the only way I could think of to express my elation. Suddenly, I nearly walked into a young man who stepped out of a shop.

"Excuse me! I'm so sorry!" I said, walking on and continuing the song.

He turned suddenly, saying

"I'm sorry, what did you say?"

"I didn't say anything, I was humming," I responded, and I hummed a few bars. He suddenly stiffened.

"What is that song?"

I realized I couldn't explain how I knew it, but he continued quickly:

"Momo, how do you know that song?"

He broke off suddenly with a gasp.

"How do you know my name?!" I demanded, suddenly nervous. He didn't seem to have an answer for that, anymore than I had an answer for the song.

As we both stood there, me scared and him seeming shocked, I began to look at him more closely. He was a handsome boy, with tumbled blond hair and what seemed to be kind eyes, though right now they were wide with alarm. He was wearing a school suit of blue and black, and was about six inches taller than me. As I watched him, I must have shown my recognition on my face, because he suddenly turned and ran away down the street. I ran after him, shouting

"Hey! WAIT!"

He ran on down the street, twisting and turning until he came to the Sohma gates, ran in, and shut them. He then ran out of sight, leaving me holding onto the gates gasping for breath. I watched him run into a house, and I bolted for the hole in the wall. It was much smaller than I remembered, but I didn't think before thrusting myself through it. It was the first time I ever blessed the fact that I was small for my age, and would probably be the last, but I still only barely fit. Apparently I had been even smaller than I realized that last time I had come into the compound. As I squeezed through and stood up, I realized that he had gone toward a house I knew well. It had a small patio with a ledge, and as I reached it, the doors were open. I ran up to it, too emotionally charged to be afraid.

The boy was sitting on a chair and staring across the room when I looked in. I began to move more quietly, but I needn't have bothered. I doubt he would have heard me even if I'd jumped into the room and begun yodeling. He was staring at a small violin sitting in an open case, and this was all the proof I needed. I stepped up onto the patio and the sliding doors.

"Alright, Momiji. I want answers and I want them now."

He jumped what seemed to be three feet in the air, and came down looking even more startled.

"What the - How did you get in here? I closed the gates!"

I walked into the room and stared him right in the eye.

"I want to know how you know my name. Right now. And why you ran away."

"I didn't!"

"Oh yes, you did." I said hotly. "You took off like a rabbit!"

He looked both amused and stricken.

"That's probably a good description."

I stared at him longer. Finally he spoke.

"How about this? You tell me how you know me, and I'll do the same for you?"

I thought about it. It didn't take long to come to a decision. I wanted to get to the bottom of this, and soon.

"Deal."

He sat down and offered me the seat opposite him. Now that the worst was over, my heart was pounding, and I realized that Mama and Papa would be worried if I didn't get home soon. I began speaking:

"My Papa is a Sohma, but Mama and I live away from the rest of the family. When I was little, I always wanted to meet the Sohmas, so one day I came the main estate. I crawled through a hole in the wall - that's how I got in today, by the way - and I explored the grounds. I didn't realize it was so quiet here, and it made me even more sad. But I heard you playing the violin that day, and I snuck over to listen. You were playing so beautifully, that I had to stay. That's how I found out your name. Someone came into the room and called you. But after that I came to the main estates a lot to listen to you. I would hide under the patio, and the doors were open a lot. That's how I know that song. You played it all the time, and I loved it so much."

All of this had been blurted out quickly, and now I knew that I was flushing as he watched me. His eyes were steady, and I felt like a fool under them, but I kept looking right at him.

"Your turn."

He seemed to stiffen, then looked away. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a wallet. He pulled out a small piece of paper and handed it to me. I took it and held it motionless for a moment. It was a small picture, and I was looking at myself. The girl in the picture was very young, but I knew that it was me because we had that same picture hanging on the wall at home. I looked back at Momiji.

"Why do you have this? And how did you get it?"

He seemed to square himself and said

"Papa gave it to me."

I looked at him hard.

"Excuse me?"

He swallowed and continued.

"Papa gave it to me. So I could know you, at least a little bit."

I began to feel faint.

"What are you telling me?!"

Momiji got up and began to pace the room, not looking at me.

"I never thought I would be able to explain this. I don't think I can."

I looked at him. His blond hair… so close in color to mine. His short stature… Just like mine. My mouth felt dry, but I had to speak.

"Are you… my brother?"

Momiji stopped pacing and looked at me, relieved.

"Well, at least that's out of the bag. That's the most important part."

I jumped up and glared at him.

"Why on earth didn't I know that I had a brother? Why would Mama and Papa do that? What did you do that made them-

"Would you stop that?" Momiji snapped. "I'm doing this the best I can."

He began pacing again. I waited impatiently. Though I'm normally a patient person, I was just thinking that I couldn't contain myself for another minute when he spoke.

"You know the story of the Zodiac animals?"

I blinked at him.

"Yes…" I said slowly.

"Well… What would you say if I told you that the Sohma family has been cursed for generations because of that story?"

I stared at him harder than ever. I had heard the story, of course, but it was just a story. A fairy tale, something to tell children at bedtime. I looked at Momiji with anger.

"I would say you were a liar, and not a very good one."

He laughed sarcastically

"I thought so. Well, I can't prove it to you anymore, since the curse was broken just a few weeks ago. I'm still not used to it, though. Do you know, since before you were born I never thought I could hug you, or hold you, or even play with you? It's because of the curse, you know."

I spoke after a moment.

"I think you're insane. You're telling some crazy story so that I won't guess why you were disowned or expelled, or whatever happened to make Mama and Papa pretend that you don't exist! Do you think I'm stupid or something?! I don't think you really are my brother!"

I had begun speaking slowly, but now I was shouting at the top of my voice. He had to raise his voice to speak above me.

"I'm telling you, I'm not lying!"

"PROVE IT!" I screamed at him.

We were staring at each other again, me glaring at him and him looking thunderstruck when we heard footsteps in the hall and a man walked in.

"Momiji, what-"

He stopped where he was and stared at me.

"What on earth?"

Momiji looked at him and spoke

"Tori-nii, I think I'd like your help."

The man strode up to me, demanding

"Why are you here? How did you get in?"

I stared at him belligerently and said

"I crawled through the hole in the wall, just like every other time! I followed my _brother_, who apparently was sent away from our parents and has known about me for my entire life, and now he thinks he can tell me some insane lie about the Zodiac animals cursing the family. How dumb do you think I am?!"

The man looked at me steadily and replied

"Well, Momo, as little as you may believe it, what Momiji says is true. We were cursed, at least some of the Sohmas, and we've only just been freed."

I glared at the man instead of Momiji.

"Either you're all liars, or you're all insane! You say you can't prove it and I'll just have to take it on faith, but I don't think I can trust anyone in this family, even my own parents! They have to be in on this, too! Or else you're both lying and I don't really have a brother."

By this time I was nearly in tears, and Momiji moved towards me. The man sighed and turned away from me. He sat down and said with a slight smile,

"Momiji, please hug your sister."

"Hatori!" Momiji exclaimed.

"Just do it, Momiji."

Momiji came up to me and gingerly put his arms around me. I stiffened, but I realized that the feeling was mutual. He was unnatural, and seemed to be almost out of practice with hugs. I began to warm up towards him again - I, too, had been denied hugs for much of my life. The man named Hatori began to speak again.

"Up until about three weeks ago, Momiji wouldn't have been able to do that. You'll notice that he had very little talent in that direction-"

"Hey!" Momiji protested

"But that" Hatori continued "is because until about three weeks ago, Momiji would have turned into a rabbit if he had tried that. I would have turned into a-"

He cleared his throat.

"A dragon, and several other members of the family would have changed as well."

I turned to Momiji.

"You're telling the truth? This really happened? You were a rabbit?"

He smiled sheepishly - or rather, with a slight scared quality that did indeed make him look like a rabbit.

"Yeah. That was me."

Hatori cleared his throat and walked towards the door

"I trust that you're now clear on that, and we won't have any more shouting matches? Akito was somewhat distressed."

Momiji looked discomposed, but I asked as Hatori walked out of the room;

"Who's Akito?"

Momiji sat down on his chair again and sighed.

"He's - She's the head of the family. She's always been kind of controlling, but she's really improved since the curse was broken. I'm just always going to be a little nervous about getting on her bad side, I guess.

He looked at me with a smile.

"That's my rabbit, I suppose."

I couldn't help but smile back as I sat down. The whole situation was so ridiculous! Here I was, finally confronting my brother - who I now realized had been my "brother" since the moment I set eyes on him - and instead of hugging him or getting to know him, I had learned that he was cursed, learned that he was cured, had called him a liar and had been proven wrong.

"So you couldn't hug anyone?" I asked, a little shyly.

"No, I just couldn't hug any girls who weren't in the Zodiac. And if I got sick or weak, I might change."

"How many girls are - were cursed, too? Were you able to hug them at all?"

Momiji smiled.

"There's just three of them. Rin's dating Haru, so that counts her out; Kagura has had it bad for Kyo for years, and probably would have knocked me out if I'd even tried to hold her hand; and Kisa's about ten right now - and looks like she's going to end up with Hiro in a couple years."

I thought about this, and realized that I wasn't doubting him anymore. For some reason, what he said rang true. I looked at him seriously.

"So why did you leave?"

Momiji looked down at the floor.

"Mama doesn't remember that I'm her son. She just thinks I'm another Sohma. Tori-nii took care of that. Mama didn't like that her son was a rabbit - She couldn't hold me, of course, or else I would transform, and she decided that I was a monster."

I leaned forward and hugged my brother, hard.

"I would have hugged you! I would have come to you every day and held you in my lap once you were a rabbit!"

He smiled a little mischievously

"You wouldn't have liked it all that much if I had changed back on top of you."

I decided I didn't want to know what that smile was about. I changed the subject a little.

"So Papa didn't want you to forget me? That's why you have my picture."

He smiled down at me, a tender smile this time.

"I don't think I could forget you. Papa told me all about you after he left you and came to stay with me. That's why he traveled so much - just across town every few weeks."

I laughed.

"And I never really forgot you after I heard you play. You were always my brother."

"That's an interesting expression."

I explained about my daydreams of a big family, and about my brother who would always look out for me. As I spoke, I noticed that he became grave. When I finished, he said

"You know, I didn't do that. I didn't save you from any kind of grief. I couldn't come and make you happy every day, and heaven knows I would have loved to. I just watched you. I'm sure you think that you're a creep for watching me play music - what would you say if I told you you've been spied on since the day you were born?

"I'm sure you don't remember me as anything more than just another Sohma, but I want you to know that starting now, I want to change that. I want to be your brother. I want to take you out to the movies, and buy you presents, and chase away any boys who want to take you on a date."

I laughed at that, and so did he. He continued

"But Mama and Papa don't know that we know each other, and I'm not sure we can tell them. They might not like it, especially since Mama doesn't know me at all. She might think that I'm an older boy who's trying to take advantage of you, or something just as bad. Papa probably won't mind, but I don't want to go behind Mama's back."

I looked at him. I was beginning to have an idea, and I wanted to put it into motion right away.

"I want you to come with me. Please."

"Where?"

"I want to introduce you to Mama again."

"Are you crazy?"

My brother stared at me, but I was too excited to care.

"If you can't transform into a rabbit anymore, you can come home! Mama will love you again!"

Momiji's expression was painful to see.

"It's not that easy, Momo. She was so angry and scared by me that she actively sought out Hari to make it all go away. She asked to forget me. I… I forgave her for that a long time ago, but that doesn't mean it'll all just go away because the curse is suddenly gone. The pain that comes from it is still here for almost all of us."

I looked at him and felt tears running down my face. I saw my grief mirrored in his, and instinctively we both came together and held each other. We cried together for a few moments, and I realized what his song had meant. It had been soft, wistful, and perfectly encapsulated what my brother's feelings were toward his family - the mother that had cast him aside, the father who tried to fix everything by taking him away, and the sister who didn't even know him.

I started to hum the tune running through my head, and through the tears I heard Momiji laugh.

"How long were you sitting outside the patio, anyway? You know that song as well as I do!"

"About a year."

Momiji raised his head from on top of mine.

"And all that time no one ever saw you?"

I sniffed.

"Well, one girl did, but she wasn't supposed to be here, either. She said she knew you - Tohru Honda?"

Momiji's big grin lit up his face.

"You met Tohru?! Isn't she great?"

"I only met her once, and maybe she never told you - I guess it's kind of silly. But when I ran into her, I asked her to deliver a message to you for me. Did she ever?"

Momiji looked at me with pride in his eyes.

"She did. That was the first time I had really considered talking to you, but I got cold feet. Wait - that doesn't add up if you really were just listening for a year."

I looked down at my toes.

"Well… After that, I was afraid you would be freaked out by me listening to you every few days and I didn't come back. That was almost two years ago now."

"You didn't come back?"

"I didn't know whether you'd want me to, or whether she'd even told you."

Momiji's smile became wistful.

"She told me. It was about that time I started to think about introducing myself to you. But when I mentioned it to Papa, he refused."

I was about to answer when I looked out of the door and saw the sun low in the sky

"Oh, no! I'm so late! Mama and Papa are going to be worried!"

I jumped up and started to run toward the door when Momiji grabbed my hand.

"Give me a second and I'll walk you home. But I can't go in."

He led me through the doors to the patio and outside the compound. It was getting dark, and we hurried home to my house. When we got there, I grabbed Momiji's hand.

"Momo, I can't do this! This isn't a good idea!"

I looked at him steadily.

"I'm not asking you to bare all your secrets just yet - please, just see her? You don't even have to talk to her if you don't want to, I'm just asking that she see you and that you see her. Please."

Momiji looked nervous as I led him up the stairs, and downright scared as I opened the door. As we entered, I heard Mama shout from upstairs

"Momo! Is that you? Where have you been?"

She came rushing in, and grabbed me in a hug.

"What kept you? You were supposed to be here an hour ago! Why-" She said as she saw Momiji, "Why, - Momiji, isn't it? What are you doing here?"

I spoke up.

"Mama, Momiji walked me home. I was lost in thought about the trip, and I started wandering again. Momiji was walking home and saw me, and he offered to take me back!"

Mama smiled at him.

"Thank you so much! Momo, I thought you'd outgrown that?"

I just smiled apologetically. She turned to Momiji again.

"I really can't thank you enough. Would you like to stay for a little while? Dinner's almost ready, you're welcome to stay."

I jumped in quickly

"Come on, it's just a few minutes. And Mama's cooking has really improved recently - Whatever she made, it's going to be really good!"

Momiji cleared his throat and said

"If you're really sure about this… I suppose I could maybe stay for a few minutes."

Mama smiled and turned to set another place at the table.

"Do you have a way to call your parents, or do you need to use our phone?"

"If I could use your phone to call my guardian, I'd appreciate it. Thank you, Ma'am."

Mama handed him the phone, and he quickly called a number and turned away to speak. While he was talking, Papa walked in. His eyes widened, and he walked quickly toward Momiji. I intercepted him before he could get there.

"Momo, what-"

"It's alright, Papa. I already know." I whispered. "He's staying for dinner!"

Papa seemed to be too shocked to speak when Momiji put the phone away and said

"Now that Tori-nii knows, I can stay as long as you'd like to have me."

Mama was setting a fourth place at the table, so Papa seemed to shake himself and said

"We'll be happy to have you. I take it you and Momo have been talking?"

I piped up

"Momiji brought me home after I started wandering again this afternoon, and he and I had so much fun on the way that I wanted him to stay for dinner."

Momiji smiled at me but said nothing. Mama put dinner on the table, and we sat down. It was a meal I would remember for the rest of my life, I knew. It was just beef stew, but it tasted better than ever. I wouldn't have cared if it had tasted like dirt. Momiji talked slowly at first, cautiously, but I led him on, and soon he was talking to Mama and Papa with an ease that made me laugh to see. To think he had been nervous! You'd never think it to see him now. I, on the other hand, was waiting for my chance. I listened to the conversation, and suddenly I heard Mama say

"When we leave the day after tomorrow, why don't you come see us off?"

Momiji looked stunned.

"Leaving?"

Papa smiled and said

"We're taking a cabin for the summer. We'll be gone for a few months."

Mama smiled at Momiji with a slightly calculating look in her eyes. Papa looked at me, then at my brother, and began to chuckle. I took a deep breath and spoke.

"Momiji, have you ever been to the mountains?"


End file.
